GUWAHATI:
Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma unveiled the 31st Durand Cup trophies in a glittering ceremony at a Guwahati hotel on Thursday. The matches in Guwahati are scheduled to be played in the Indira Gandhi Athletic Stadium from August 17 to September 4.
“Glad to unveil 3 trophies of 134-year-old Durand Cup, Asia’s oldest football tournament, to be held in Assam for the first time from Aug 17 to Sept 4 at Guwahati under the aegis of @adgpi & GoA,” Sarma tweeted after the event.
“I urge all sports enthusiasts in Assam and NE to enjoy the Durand Cup matches. We shall arrange special buses for spectators. My gratitude to the Indian Army for selecting Guwahati among 5 cities in the country to host the first 10 Group D matches of the prestigious tournament,” Sarma further added.
The three trophies, the Durand Cup (a rolling trophy and the original prize), the Shimla Trophy (also a rolling trophy and first given by the residents of Shimla in 1904) and the President’s Cup (for permanent keep and first presented by Dr Rajendra Prasad, India’s first President, in 1956) are on a five-city tour.
Also, present on the occasion of the unveiling were Lt Gen KK Repswal, Chief of Staff, Eastern Command and chairman of Durand Organising Committee, Lt Gen KC Panchanathan, General Officer Commanding-in-Chief, 101 Area, and Major General Vikas Saini, GOC, 51 Sub Area.
Speaking on the occasion, Lt General Repswal said, “The cooperation from the Assam government has been phenomenal and we are confident that this will herald a new beginning for the game in the state.”The trophy was flagged off from Kolkata on July 19, 2022, and after being in Guwahati for two days will proceed to Imphal in Manipur, the first-time hosts. It then proceeds to Jaipur, as Rajasthan would be fielding a team in the competition for the first time and will then make a final stop at the home of the defending champions FC Goa before returning to Kolkata on July 31, the venue of the opening game on August 16, as well as the Grand Finale on September 18.
The 134-year-old iconic Durand Cup Football Tournament will be hosted by Assam for the very first time.
There will be a total of 47 games in the 131st Durand Cup edition, with both Guwahati and Imphal hosting 10-games of group C and group D each, all the seven knockout games are held in three West Bengal venues. The opening pool matches are slated to begin on August 16 at Kolkata’s Vivekananda Yuba Bharati Krirangan (VYBK) stadium,and on August 17 the venue will shift to Guwahati’s Indira Gandhi Athletic stadium, after that it will be Imphal’s turn to host and on August 18, the matches will be played at at Imphal’s Khuman Lampakh Stadium. The Tournament will culminate with the Grand Finale scheduled for September 18 at VYBK.
The century-old tournament is getting bigger and better this year with 20-top teams of the country, including all 11 teams from the top division Indian Super League (ISL) participating, up from 16-teams last year.
A symbol of India’s football history and culture, the Durand Cup is Asia’s oldest and the world’s third oldest football tournament.